We have contributed to the Welsh Government’s Consultation on violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence National Strategy for 2022-26. Below we outline the main areas covered in the response to the consultation, with emphasis on the objectives, the blueprint and the principles.
Objectives
In terms of the objectives of the VAWDASV National Strategy the Anna Phillips Foundation supports efforts to strengthen the public space for engaging in this challenging policy area. In addition we support the efforts to empower children so they know the differences between acceptable and inappropriate behaviour and that this is acknowledged by their peers and wider community.
We take the view that early intervention and prevention during childhood can mitigate many of the problems that often arise later in life. It is crucial that those in postions of responsibilty understandand and respond to calls for help, especially as these can be the early signs of possible suicidal ideation.
In this way, the involvement of professionals as “early warning advocates” is crucial as it is likely to make the public service’s capacity to respond more sustainable over the long term.
It is important that perpetrators face the consequences of their actions on victims, so in this sense restorative justice should play a crucial role in the strategy for tackling violence against women and domestic violence going forward.
Blueprint
With regard to the blueprint for tackling violence against women and domestic abuse, we envisage close co-operation between devolved and non-devolved partners, and that these actors amend strategies to tackle violence and abuse in light of the latest empirical evidence.
This way would most likely maximise the chances of survivors establishing a solid pathway to their recovery and wellbeing.
We highlighted five sub-headings in the blueprint. On a cultural shift in attitudes, we feel it is absolutely essential to move away from victim blaming. This would include challenging potential perpetrators to ask themselves hard questions about the need to coercively control others and so inflict terrible trauma on victims.
If this approach is taken then our society will explicitly recognise the profound harm that is done to victims and so aims to prevent offending in the first place. So less trauma and less likelihood of needing to use the criminal justice system.
Other areas we emphasise and agree as needing to be addressed include: effective strategic planning, a national framework of standards, a set of nation al indicators, and the active engagement of, and prominent role played by survivors in shaping the actual national strategy.
Principles
The three areas we highlighted are: survivor’s voice, trauma informed, and collaborative working and co-production.
If the strategy is to be grounded and informed by actual experience of traumna then having a significant input from survivors is essential. In practical terms this means trauma survivors of abuse and violence (whether in childhood or later, or both) need to have a meaningful presence on the proposed National Strategy Board.
In terms of the need to be trauma informed, in the response we have drawn attention to the particularly challenging aspect of betrayal trauma, which is a form of trauma endured by victims who trusted the perpetrator, given their relationship. The trajectory of this form of trauma can lead to very serious long term psychological dysfunction.
Specific reference is made to the BITTEN framework, which points to childhood trauma being more likely to lead to patient care avoidance , and a profound lack of trust in, and engagement with care providers by victims of childhood trauma will be exacerbated as a result of institutional betrayal.
The challenge is to convey the sum of individual traumatic experiences into a coherent, overarching and compassionate National Strategy of trauma informed care for survivors of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Finally, we urge the Welsh Government to take into account the wider context of the term “violence”, so that it is inclusive of psychological and emotional abuse, which may not at first be so obvious and as such harder to identify.
To read our full response, please follow the link here:
https://annaphillips.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Response-to-Welsh-Government-Consultation-on-the-VAWDASV-National-Strategy-for-2022.pdf
Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse, and Sexual Violence